Jan I van Cuyck was a great man: a powerful lord in the Land of Cuijk and Grave, a promoter of economy and welfare, a benefactor of ecclesiastical institutions, a man with an extensive and important familial and feudal network, a top diplomat on an international level, a brave knight, a highly respected advisor and negotiator. His successors would not be able to match up to his achievements.[1]

Jan II van CuyckWhen Jan I van Cuyck passed away in 1308, his sons Hendrik and Willem had already died. Gerard and Jan were clerics. So it was Jan II, son of Hendrik and Aelis of Diest, who succeeded his grandfather as Lord of Cuijk and Grave. He appears for the first time in 1308 when he witnessed several charters of Jan I.Jan II continued the good relationship with Jan II, Duke of Brabant. He was one of the nobles who attached his seal to the famous Charter of Kortenberg in 1312.Jan II was a vassal of Brabant and guaranteed several transactions for his liege lord. The focus in this period, however, seems to shift from Brabant to Gelre: there is no proof that Jan II van Cuyck performed services for Jan III of Brabant. But Jan van Cuyck was a witness when the marriage contract between the young Reinoud II of Gelre and Sofia Berthout was signed in 1311. He also gave military support to Reinoud I of Gelre, for the expedition in favour of the German King Frederick the Fair against the latter’s rival Louis the Bavarian.

Van Cuyck van Mierop

Jan never married and had no legitimate children, but he was the father of an illegitimate son: Jan van Cuyck van Mierop (+ 1319), knight, who married Maria of Berlaer (Berthout), daughter of Jan II and Elisabeth van den Berghe (Arkel). They had one son, also named Jan. The genealogy of the van Cuyck van Mierop branch is not clear for the first generations, but the family has descendants in the Netherlands, Belgium and England, among them some famous members such as Master Vincent Cornelisz. van Cuyck van Mierop, knight (1469-1550), chief treasurer of the Netherlands, one of the richest and most influential men in his own times.[2]The van Cuyck van Mierop branch had a coat of arms that was very similar to the Cuyck coat of arms: the ordinaries were blue instead of red. The rest remained the same.Another famous member was Martin van Cuyck van Mierop, a Dutch coffee trader, living in London, who took Edward Lloyd to The Netherlands and introduced him to the concept of the insurance bourse. Edward Lloyd decided to introduce the concept of a bourse in London and the rest of the almost 325 years history of Lloyd’s of London is known to many. Martin van Cuyck van Mierop became the Chairman of the first Society of Lloyd’s in the early 18th century.

Otto van CuyckFamilial and feudal relationsAfter Jan II van Cuyck had died (1319) without legitimate issue, his uncle Otto became Lord of Cuijk and Grave. Otto was a younger son of Jan I van Cuyck. Otto was Lord of Cuijk, Merum, Neerloon, Mierlo and though three marriages also of Zelem and Heverlee.He first married Aleydis van Diest, Lady of Zelem, widow of Walter III of Berchem-Ranst; they had no children. With his second wife Johanna van Heverlee he had one daughter Adelissa. Otto’s third marriage with Johanna of Flanders, a granddaughter of Count Guy of Dampierre, widow of Gerard of Diest, remained childless.In 1321 Otto van Cuyck confirmed and augmented the privileges of the town of Grave, he donated an annual income to the canons and a rent to the guesthouse. He also gave privileges to the inhabitants of Vierlingbeek, Maashees and Halteren. In 1323 he decided to offer the allodial property of Grave – an important town, strategically situated on the border between Brabant and Gelre – to Jan III of Brabant, who returned it as a fief. Otto received 5.000 pounds for this. It seems that Otto was in constant need of money!Otto ranked among the most important counselors of the Brabant dukes Jan II (1294-1312) and Jan III (1312-1355). Otto was a vassal of the Duke of Brabant for Neerloon and (from 1323 onwards) also for Grave. From 1306 onwards he appears as a witness or arbiter in innumerable ducal charters and is described as virum nobilem, consanguineum et fidelem nostrum dilectum, or named amongst nos chiers et ameys chevaliers, foiables et conseillers or onsen lieven ridderen, mannen ende raetgevers. He signed the Charter of Kortenberg in 1312. In 1343 he became the Duke’s chief counselor or summus domini ducis Brabantiae consiliarius. Otto even had his own room in the ducal palace in Brussels.The Duke of Brabant was Otto’s most important liege lord, but he was also a vassal of the German Emperor (for the Land of Cuijk), of the Count of Gelre (1311, exchange of allodial lands in Malsen), of the Count of Holland (date unknown, exchange of allodial lands in Meteren and Malsen), of the Count of Luxemburg (1315/16, money and exchange of allodial lands in Meteren), of the Count of Gulik (unknown date, exchange of allodial lands near Roermond), of the Bishop of Munster (1333, exchange of property in Escharen). While his father augmented his wealth and power trough fief rents, Otto lost large parts of his allodial property in exchange for money.

BrabantThe early fourteenth century, an economic boom time for Brabant, marks the rise of the Duchy's towns, which depended on English wool for their essential cloth industry.[3] The major towns of Brabant had the authority to appoint councilors, under terms of the Charter of Kortenberg (1312). By 1356 the Duke and Duchess, Johanna and Wenceslas, were forced to accept the famous Joyous Entry as a condition for their recognition, so powerful had the States of Brabant become.John III, son of John II and Margaret, daughter of King Edward I of England, was married to Marie of Evreux, a granddaughter of King Philip III of France. In 1316 King Louis X requested Brabant to cease trade with Flanders and to participate in a French attack. The councilors representing the towns found this impossible, and in reprisal Louis prohibited all French trade with Brabant in February 1316, in violation of a treaty of friendship he had signed with Brabant in the previous October.John III became a very powerful Lord: he was Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg. The neighboring sovereigns in the Low Countries (Luxemburg, Gelre, Gulik, Loon, Eu, Namur, Holland and Flanders), stimulated by Philip VI of France, formed a coalition to withstand the expansion of the power of Brabant. In 1332, a crisis with the king of France arose over John's hospitality to the French enemy Robert III of Artois. The outcome of the conflict was that John received a fief from Philip and declared himself a vassal of France. His oldest son was betrothed to Philip's daughter Marie, and it was agreed that the Brabançon heir would complete his education at the French court in Paris and that Robert of Artois would be expelled from Brabant.The support of France strengthened John's hand with his feudal suzerein, the Holy Roman Emperor. Though he was technically the Emperor's feudal vassal, John had been able to ignore Emperor Louis IV's summons to join him in his intended invasion of Lombardy (1327). The differences with the neighbouring principalities were also settled. But the situation changed again and the princes of the Low Countries settled their differences to form a coalition against Brabant in June 1333. War was briefly brought to the Duchy of Brabant in the summer of 1334, but resolved by a peace brokered by Philip at Amiens. The French king declared that John had to hand over the town of Tiel and its neighbouring villages to the count of Guelders and to betroth his daughter Marie to the count's son, Reinoud.All this time Otto van Cuyck was one of the main advisors of John III and he acted as a witness on many occasions. He followed in the footsteps of his father and succeeded in playing a role on the international scene, though he never reached the same level. He travelled to France, Namur, Gelre, England and Holland to arrange marriages, contracts, business deals, financial and military affairs and truce.The Reichstag in Koblenz on 5 September 1338 was a remarkable moment in Otto’s career. There King Edward III was crowned Vicar of the Holy Roman Empire. The King and the Emperor processed into the cathedral and Edward, dressed in a robe of scarlet, sat at the foot of the imperial throne. The emperor himself sat in splendour, wearing his crown and holding a sceptre, with a naked sword held aloft behind him by Otto van Cuyck, who represented the Duke of Brabant. The chronicler Jean Froissart described the scene as follows: En l'an dessus dit (1338), le samedi devant le Nostre-Dame en septembre, comme empereur de Romme, Loysde Baivière, en cel jour assis en Convelence en siège impérial, sur ung escafaut de douze piés de hault, vestisde drap de soie cangant, par dessus ses draps d'un daumatique, en ses bras phanous, et estolle devant croisie, à manière de prestre, tout estoffé des armes de l'Empire; et avoit ses piés d'otel drap comme le corps; et avoit son chief atourné de mitre réonde; et sur celle mitre il avoit couronné d'or moult riche; en ses mains avoit deux blancs wans de soie, et en ses dois aneaux moult riches. Si tenoit en sa main destre une pomme d'or, une crois vermeille dessus. En l'autre main tcnoit-il le septre. Da-lez l'empereur, à destre, séoit les marquis de Misse, auquel l'empereur bailla à tenir la pomme d'or; et assez près séoit le roy d'Engleterre vestis d'un drap vermeil d'esquerlatte, à ung chastel de broudure en la poitrine; et au senestre de l'empereur séoit le marquis de Jullers, à qui l'empereur bailla à tenir le septre; et environ deux degrés plus bas de l'empereur séoient li esliseur, et deseur de l'empereur séoit le sire de Cuk, ou lieu du duc de Brabant, en présence de tous, en sa main une espée toute nue.

GelreAfter the Battle of Woeringen (1288) Reinoud I, Count of Gelre, was left defeated and pennyless, but at the start of the 14th century the county started to rise again. The van Cuyck family had familial and feudal ties with the counts of Gelre and Otto appears several times in their entourage. In 1311 he witnessed the marriage agreement between the next Count Reinoud II and Sophia Berthout. He also negotiated and organized the second marriage of Reinoud II with Eleonora, sister of King Edward III. Otto appears in many charters, but he also provided military support. Although there existed a difficult relationship between Gelre and Brabant, Otto managed to maintain a neutral position, which proves his diplomatic skills.

England and the Hundred Years WarOn 24 September 1329 King Edward III of England sent two special ambassadors, the knight William of Montaigu and Bartholomew de Burgerssh, to talk to the Lord of Cuijk. Their goal was to convince Otto to stay with the King in his council and retinue for life and to negotiate about a proper fee for his services. During the next few years Otto would act as a councilor, envoy, arbiter and brother-in-arms.Through his mother, Isabella of France, Edward III of England was the grandson of Philip IV of France, and nephew of Charles IV of France, the last king of the senior line of the House of Capet. In 1316, a principle was established denying women succession to the French throne. When Charles IV died in 1328, Isabella, unable to claim the French throne for herself, claimed it for her son. The French rejected the claim, maintaining that Isabella could not transmit a right that she did not possess.John III of Brabant, who was Edward III’s first cousin, was an ally of England. This alliance improved the power of Brabant and some of the sovereigns in the Low Countries did become enemies of Brabant, among them Flanders, Liège, Holland and Guelders. For that reason between 1332 and 1334, he had to face an economic blockade from a coalition of his enemies. However, in 1334, a peace agreement was arranged, in Amiens, where the French king declared that Jan III of Brabant would hand over the town of Tiel and its neighbouring villages Heerewaarden and Zandwijk to the county of Guelders. In order to protect himself from his neigbouring enemies Jan, from 1335 onward started to shift his alliance more towards France. In 1336 he was able to annex the enclave of Mechelen which belonged to Liège.However, alliances kept changing, in that same year King Edward III paid him £60,000 over 4 years (a sum equal to the combined income of England and Guyenne for one year), further more he offered to install the Staple (official depot where England’s wool was stored) in Antwerp, this was important for his cities who all flourished from the wool trade. This led to a severe economic recession in Flanders (its Count was an ally of the French King). A revolt from the weavers led by Jacob van Artevelde saw Flanders support being given to Edward.All together Edward received the support from a range of nobles on the continent. Otto van Cuyck negotiated between Brabant and England. In Juni 1337 the King sent William of Montaigu, Count of Salisbury, and Otto van Cuyck to negotiate with the Duke of Brabant. They agreed to pay 10.000 pounds Sterling for his military support. A month later Otto acted as arbiter between Edward and John concerning a compensation for lost horses. The same month of July 1337 John promised Edward 1200 of his men-at-arms in the event of an English campaign in France, Edward to pay their salary. In August Edward pledged not to negotiate with the French king without prior consultation with the duke.In 1338 and 1339 Jan signed a number of contracts with both knights and freemen for the delivery of military services for as long as the war between France and England continued. In all he contracted 868 horsemen. Otto van Cuyk was one of the larger suppliers with 100 troops. In that year a big English fleet arrived on the shores in Brabant and for a brief moment the Hundred Year War touched Brabant. John received the promised subsidy (March 1339) and agreed to betroth his second daughter, Margaret, to Edward, the Black Prince, heir to the English throne.In 1339 Otto fought with Brabant against France. The same year he and his wife received an annual sum of 3.000 florins as a compensation for their lost properties in France. And when Edward arrived in Gent (January 1340) and was proclaimed King of France, Otto was sent out to receive the oaths of the other towns of Flanders. He also had to assist the Duke of Gelre who had been appointed as governor of Flanders.Two seasons of inconclusive campaigning that ravaged the north of France left Edward penniless at the end of 1341. In 1342 Jan of Brabant and the Count of Hainault met with the papal representatives at Antoing and concluded an independent peace with France, promising that unless Philippe VI invaded Flanders they would not make war on him without at least one month’s notice being given.By a treaty signed at Saint-Quentin, June 1347, Brabant was retained as an ally by France. Margaret of Brabant was now to marry Louis of Male, who had inherited the title of count of Flanders, but whose power against the Flemish communes was virtually nil. A point of dispute with the count of Flanders had been the Lordship of Mechelen, a strategic enclave within Brabant: it was agreed that it would now come under full Brabançon control. Despite the diplomacy of Edward (through Otto van Cuyck), John remained true to his French commitments until his death in December 1355. During this period, Otto practically disappears from the Brabant theatre, but kept on providing services for Edward III.

Decline and fallThe Duke of Brabant becomes Liege Lord of Cuijk and GraveOtto van Cuyck died in 1350 without a male successor. Consequently his nephew Jan III, Lord of Hoogstraten and Wortel, became Lord of Cuijk and Grave.[4] He was also Lord of Mierlo, half Asten, Nieuwkuyc and Enke. Jan was the oldest son of Willem van Cuyck, knight, and Sophia of Gimnich (Gymnich), lady of Hoogstraten and Wortel, daughter of Wenemar and Johanna of Elslo. He married (ca. 1320) Catharina Berthout, daughter of Hendrik alias Bebbeken, Lord of Le Bosquiel. They had five children: Willem, Jan, Elisabeth, Hendrik and Wenemar.Jan III van Cuyck, son of Willem, inherited Hoogstraten from his mother Sophia of Gimnich (+ 1302/3); he was the first Cuyck to be Lord of Hoogstraten (Jan I). He was followed by his son Jan II (Jan IV van Cuyck) in 1357 and his grandson Jan III (Jan V van Cuyck) in 1363. As Jan III died without legitimate heir, another grandson of Jan I became Lord of Hoogstraten: Jan IV, son of Hendrik van Cuyck. He sold Hoogstraten to Frank van Borsselen. Jan IV died in 1442; he was buried in the church of the priory of Korsendonk. His grave was destroyed.Jan III van Cuyck not only inherited the land of Cuijk and the town of Grave from his uncle, he also inherited Otto’s debts. For that reason he sold or mortgaged the Land of Cuijk and the town of Grave to Jan of Wijtvliet, Lord of Blaersvelt, a bastard son of Duke Jan II of Brabant. But the transaction did not bring any consolation: Jan never received payment. So Jan van Cuyck went to Jan of Wijtvliet at his castle in Grave and demanded either payment or restitution of the Land of Cuijk and the city of Grave. Van Wijtvliet refused to do anything. Eventually the castle was besieged and Van Wijtvliet was killed. Jan van Cuyck fled to Bruges.This murder called for revenge: Wenceslaus of Luxemburg, Duke of Brabant, occupied the land of Cuijk and with the support of his brother, Emperor Charles IV, turned it into a fief of Brabant. In the mean while, in 1356, Lodewijk of Male, Count of Flanders, confiscated the land of Hoogstraten, but this was reversed the next year. That same year Jan van Cuyck sold his fiefdom of Mierlo.Jan III van Cuyck died in 1357, probably in ‘s Hertogenbosch. During his short reign the Land of Cuijk and the town of Grave were completely integrated into the Brabant sphere of influence and the Lord of Cuijk lost a lot of his power, influence and prestige. His successors (his son Jan IV and his grandson Jan V) were not able to turn the tide of things. The financial problems remained and the Cuycks were increasingly overpowered by Brabant. The young Jan V was even raised at the ducal court.In 1371 French mercenaries in Gulik robbed some merchants from Brabant. The Duke of Brabant demanded compensation from the Duke of Gulik, but the latter refused and even protected and hired the attackers. Duke Wenceslaus of Brabant went to war with the support of Namur. Duke Willem of Gulik allied with Gelre. The troops met at Baesweiler, north of Aachen. Eventually Gulik won the battle on 22 August. The Duke of Brabant and the Count of Namur were taken prisoner, together with several nobles. Many were killed, among them the Duke of Gelre. Hendrik van Cuyck, son of Jan III van Cuyck, was also killed. He was fighting at the side of Brabant.

The Gelre warsWenemar van Cuyck and his oldest son and successor Jan VI (+ 1394) were caught in the middle of the war between Gelre and Brabant. Wenemar probably spent most of his time in his newly built house in Meteren, allodial property of the family. Even though the Duke of Brabant was his liege lord, through his marriage he was much more oriented in the direction of Gelre. This would bring him in a difficult position as the animosity between Brabant and Gelre was rising.Duke Wenceslaus of Brabant died in December 1383. At that time Gelre and Brabant were involved in a severe power struggle. His widow Johanna turned towards Philip the Bold, Count of Flanders and Duke of Burgundy, for help. King Richard II of England supported Willem of Gulik, Duke of Gelre. In the conflict between Gelre and Brabant, the town of Grave was of the utmost importance because of its strategic and economic position along the river Meuse, on the boarder between the two duchies. Willem of Gelre immediately positioned his troops in the castle of Grave and tried to legitimize his claim by arranging a marriage between Johanna, his illegitimate daughter (who was still a child at that time), and Jan (VI) van Cuyck, Wenemar’s oldest son. Amongst other things the contract stipulated that the Duke of Gelre would help the Lord of Cuijk against all enemies, a promise that eventually lead to an actual alliance in 1386. Wenemar refused to open the gates of Grave for the troops of the Duchess of Brabant. Peace negotiations failed and war was imminent. The Brabant troops laid siege before Grave but were severely beaten in the Battle of Niftrik (30 July 1388). Philip the Bold and Charles VI of France interfered and in October the Treaty of Korrenzig was signed. Grave was returned to Brabant. Brabant and Gelre were reconciled. Despite his support of Gelre, Wenemar remained Lord of Cuijk and Grave, but he died a few months later.Jan VI van Cuyck, Wenemar’s oldest son and son in law of the Duke of Gelre, inherited the Land of Cuijk and Grave. As his father, Jan was very much oriented towards Gelre. He accompanied the Duke on his voyage to Prussia, he witnessed several charters and he guaranteed some of the Duke’s transactions. Jan gave allodial lands to the Duke and received them back as a fief. The Duke also enfeoffed him with Hernen and relieved him from the payment of toll. The contacts with Brabant, however, were practically put on hold. Jan was, of course, still a vassal of Brabant, but his loyalty was questionable. As the relationship between Brabant and Gelre remained tense and flammable, Philip the Bold, heir of Brabant, tried to buy Jan’s fidelity with an annual rent of 300 francs in 1394. Jan died a few months later, leaving behind the Land of Cuijk and Grave without an heir.Jan had a younger brother, who was still a minor in 1394. But surprisingly it was his sister Johanna who succeeded in the Land of Cuijk and Grave. The Duke of Gelre immediately arranged a marriage for her with his illegitimate – minor – son Willem. From that moment onwards the steward of Gelre would take care of Johanna’s financial matters and administratively the Land of Cuijk and Grave became a part of Gelre.In 1397 war again broke loose between Brabant and Gelre. The peace agreement that was signed two years later, the Treaty of Ravenstein, turned out bad for Johanna van Cuyck. Her husband Willem was enfeoffed with the town of Grave, a year later the (childless) marriage to Willem the Bastard of Gelre was annulled and she was deprived of the Land of Cuijk as well. The Duke of Gelre had become the new Lord of Cuijk and Grave.

Not the end​For a long time it was believed that this was the end of the Cuyck family, except for the “van Cuyck van Meteren” branch founded by Wenemar’s youngest daughter Elisabeth and her husband Jan van Tiel. But recent research has shown that the Cuyck family that appears in Culemborg at the beginning of the 15th century is in fact related to Wenemar van Cuyck. The Cuycks clearly took a fresh start, succeeded in increasing their possessions and developed again into an important family of politicians and functionaries, first in Culemborg, later in Utrecht.